The future of the office - is the Metaverse on its way?

The Metaverse is still an idea that is forming; waiting to take shape. Most of us have had a go at the video games involving avatars we can control; managing their interactions with their on-screen environment. The Metaverse provides a similar user experience, offering an online world that facilitates user interaction, using augmented and virtual reality.

With developing technology, such as VR headsets and motion capture, you can create a personal 3D avatar, which accurately reflects your movement and body language. Used for types of gaming, there’s no reason why this avatar couldn’t function in a workplace setting, interacting with other avatars (colleagues) in an online meeting room; creating a fully immersive business experience that would contribute to productivity and engagement.

Writing for WhatIs.com, Linda Tucci pinpoints how enterprises are currently experimenting with metaverse applications in the workplace, building on the virtual applications companies deployed to support remote work during the pandemic: “An early application of metaverse technologies involves workplace training. Some hospitals are already using VR and AR to train for common medical procedures…”

It could be that we’re simply not there just yet. The pandemic showed us that technology could connect us when there was no other means of reaching people – it also showed us that, ultimately, people need each other. They still want the opportunity to meet in the flesh and interact, which is paramount to team building.

Office workers may not have returned to provide commercial space with the capacity of occupancy there was before the pandemic – but they did return. The message is, we’re not ready for the future right now - but we are constantly moving and progressing towards a virtual solution that enhances online connectivity and interaction. The Metaverse, in one form or another, will be with us one day.